gate

verb, noun — 30 senses

gate

verbalso spelled GATE

US, UK /ˈɡeɪ̯t/ · AU, NZ /ˈɡæɪ̯t/

Etymology From Middle English gate (the forms ȝate and ȝeat yielded the dialectal doublet yate), from the plural of Old English ġeat (specifically gatu), from Proto-West Germanic *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą (“hole, opening”). See also Old Norse gat, Swedish and Dutch gat, Low German Gaat, Gööt.

1

To keep something inside by means of a closed gate.

2

Dated, Historical To punish (a student) by not allowing to leave the college grounds.

  • You climbed the wall, for which you ought to be gated; and finally, you came in blotto, for which you ought to be sent down.1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night:
  • “I’ve missed two lectures already,” remarked Maurice, who was breakfasting in his pyjamas. “Cut them all — he’ll only gate you.”1971, E. M. Forster, chapter 13, in Maurice, Penguin, published 1972, page 72:
1 more example
  • Dons could ring the front bell and be admitted after that hour. But students who returned after midnight or who stayed out all night were fined heavily or “gated” – that is, forbidden to leave college for several days.2010, Thomas J. Schaeper, Kathleen Schaeper, “Yanks and Brits”, in Rhodes Scholars, Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite, New York, NY: Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page 52:
3

Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To open (a closed ion channel).

4

To furnish with a gate.

5

To turn (an image intensifier) on and off selectively, as needed or to avoid damage from excessive light exposure. See autogating.

6

To selectively regulate or restrict (access to something).

  • Lillian walked the halls wearing a shirt plastered with what she assured everyone was a memetic stun agent; it looked just like the kill agent gating access to the SCP-001 database file, but as she patiently explained to McInnis, in art, context is everything.2024 September 28, HarryBlank, “Not Ready for Prime Time”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2024:
Derived terms
gate off, gater

GATE

noun

/ɡeɪt/

1

Education Abbreviation, Acronym gifted and talented education

Related terms
gifted education

gate

noun

Etymology From Middle English gate (the forms ȝate and ȝeat yielded the dialectal doublet yate), from the plural of Old English ġeat (specifically gatu), from Proto-West Germanic *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą (“hole, opening”). See also Old Norse gat, Swedish and Dutch gat, Low German Gaat, Gööt.

19 senses
  1. 1A doorlike structure outside a house.
  2. 2A doorway, opening, or passage in a fence or wall.
  3. 3A movable barrier.
  4. 4A passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers…
  5. 5A location which serves as a conduit for transport…
  6. 6The amount of money made by selling tickets to a concert…
  7. 7A logical pathway made up of switches which turn on or…
  8. 8The controlling terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).
  9. 9In a lock tumbler, the opening for the stump of the bolt…
  10. 10The channel or opening through which metal is poured…
  11. 11The waste piece of metal cast in the opening; a sprue or…
  12. 12The gap between a batsman's bat and pad.
  13. 13A mechanism, in a film camera and projector, that holds…
  14. 14A line that separates particle type-clusters on…
  15. 15A tally mark consisting of four vertical bars crossed by…
  16. 16An individual theme park as part of a larger resort…
  17. 17A place where drugs are illegally sold.
  18. 18A man; a male person.
  19. 19A tunnel serving the coal face.
1

A doorlike structure outside a house.

2

A doorway, opening, or passage in a fence or wall.

  • At 7, he made his exit through the Ch‘ien-ch‘ing and the Lung-tsung gates, and thence, through the Yung-Hang Gate he entered the Tz‘u-ning Palace.1870 June [1870 April], “The Peking Gazettes”, in Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, volume 3, number 1, Foochow: American Presbyterian Mission Press, →OCLC, page 12, column 1:
3

A movable barrier.

  • The gate in front of the railroad crossing went up after the train had passed.
4

A passageway (as in an air terminal) where passengers can embark or disembark.

5

A location which serves as a conduit for transport, migration, or trade.

  • Lyons and Fisher's stations, who have spared nothing to ensure a success on this point, there is every reason to believe that the Northern Territory will soon be able to make a proper use of her geographical position, and become the gate of the East for all the Australian colonies.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 246:
6

The amount of money made by selling tickets to a concert or a sports event.

7

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A logical pathway made up of switches which turn on or off. Examples are and, or, nand, etc.

8

Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The controlling terminal of a field effect transistor (FET).

9

In a lock tumbler, the opening for the stump of the bolt to pass through or into.

10

Arts, Crafts, Engineering, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Metallurgy, Metalworking, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The channel or opening through which metal is poured into the mould; the ingate; tedge.

11

The waste piece of metal cast in the opening; a sprue or sullage piece. Also written geat and git.

12

Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The gap between a batsman's bat and pad.

  • Singh was bowled through the gate, a very disappointing way for a world-class batsman to get out.
13

Broadcasting, Cinematography, Film, Media, Television A mechanism, in a film camera and projector, that holds each frame momentarily stationary behind the aperture.

  • After all, not using film has advantages other than cost: the curse of getting a hair in the gate (the rectangular opening at the front of a camera) is gone; the problem of getting dirt on the film swept away.2023 March 16, John Boorman, “Today’s ‘films’ are nothing of the sort – so stop calling them that”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
14

A line that separates particle type-clusters on two-dimensional dot plots.

15

A tally mark consisting of four vertical bars crossed by a diagonal, representing a count of five.

16

An individual theme park as part of a larger resort complex with multiple parks.

  • It would encompass more than 500 acres and include a new theme park, several hotels, two mammoth parking garages with direct access from the freeway and a "third gate" — land set aside for future expansion.1993 05, Rich Mannino, “The World According to Disney”, in Orange Coast Magazine, page 83:
  • Disneyland opened its second gate – Disney's California Adventure. It was located exactly where Westcot would have been, directly across a central plaza from the Disneyland main gate.2006 August 1, Shaun Finnie, The Disneylands That Never Were, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 168:
2 more examples
  • At Disneyland Paris, the much-delayed “second gate,” a Walt Disney Studios theme park, opened on March 16.2008 December 9, James B. Stewart, Disneywar: The Battle for the Magic Kingdom, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
  • For its part, Universal is also continuing to grow domestically, with its new second gate in Orlando – Volcano Bay – opening around the same time as Pandora.2018 April 16, John Reynolds, Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 4th edition, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
17

Slang A place where drugs are illegally sold.

  • The gangs were fighting for control of "drug gates," control points for the sale of crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana.1996 April 24, “Connecticut: Task Force Successful In Curbing Street Gangs”, in Organized Crime Digest, volume 17, number 9, Annandale, V.A.: Washington Crime News Service, →OCLC, page 2, column 2:
  • I put more guns in East Coast niggas' hands than East Coast niggas did when they came out here. I put them niggas on to more weed gates and weed spots and safe havens and safe spots than the East Coast did.1996 June, Tupac Shakur, quotee, “Inside the Mind of Shakur”, in Tupac Shakur, New York, N.Y.: Three Rivers Press, published 1998, →ISBN, page 101:
3 more examples
  • The spatial mapping of Jamaica onto U.S. cities entails the erection of dance halls, reggae clubs, smoking yards or "weed gates," select storefront vendors of Rasta apparel, ritual paraphernalia, and ital ("natural" and approved) foods (Hepner 1998: 206).2007, Paul Christopher Johnson, Diaspora Conversions: Black Carib Religion and the Recovery of Africa, Berkeley, C.A. […]: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 56:
  • The very first dread I worked with, Dusty, had his gate at 55 Bowen.2018, U-God [Lamont Hawkins], Raw: My Journey Into The Wu-Tang, New York, N.Y.: Picador, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 69:
  • There's not a gate in the West Side area that lasts longer than a month other than the ones I service. Gates go up and come down just as fast.2018, Robert Ricks, Fast Furious & Fatherless: An Urban Tale, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu Publishing Services, →ISBN, page 244:
18

Dated A man; a male person.

  • Whatcha gonna say there, gate?1939, Cab Calloway, Frank Froeba, Jack Palmer, “Jumpin' Jive”:
  • He said, "Come on, gates, and jump with me / At the June Teenth Jamboree."1940, Louis Jordan, “June Teenth Jamboree”, performed by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five:
1 more example
  • Louie wants you to get in there and lay yo' racket on that writin' machine so all the fine dinners and gates up in the land o' darkness will be hep and truck on down to this frolic pad 'cause the joint's really gonna be jumpin' and everythin' will be fine as wine like watermelon on the vine.1944 December 8, “Broadway Jam Session”, in The Tampa Times:
19

Business, Mining A tunnel serving the coal face.

Derived terms
226 termsA20 gate, Abbey Gate, agate, age gate, Aldgate, algate, Ambergate, AND gate, arrival gate, Ashton Gate, baby gate, back gate, backgate, Baldwin's Gate, beartrap gate, beast-gate, Bishopsgate, Blackmoor Gate, boarding gate, Bogan Gate, boom gate, bridle gate, Broughams Gate, Burragate, car gate, Caspian Gates, CCNOT gate, chamber gate, Choi Soon-sil-gate, Churchgate, Cilician Gates, Clergate, Conformity Gate, corpse-gate, County Gates, Cross Gates, degate, departure gate, Deutsch gate, Dieselgate, difference gate, dragon gate, Duna-gate, Dzungarian Gate, East Newdegate, e-gate, endgate, equivalence gate, eye-gate, faregate, farmgate, field-programmable gate array, five-bar gate, five-barred gate, flap gate, floodgate, flood-gate, flood gate, fluxgate, foregate, Forest Gate, Fredkin gate, front gate, garden gate, gateable, gate array, gate box, Gate City, gate crash, gate-crash, gatecrash, gate-crasher, gate crasher, gate fever, gatefold, Gategate, gate guard, gate guardian, gate-happy, gate house, gatehouse, gatekeep, gate-keep, gatekeeper, gate-keepy, gateleg, gateless, gate lice, gatelike, gateline, gateman, gate-money, gate money, gate of hell, gate of horn, gate of ivory, gatepier, gatepost, gate rape, gate receipts, Gateshead, Gates of Alexander, Gates of Hercules, gatetender, gate time, gate-toothed, gate-to-wire, gate valve, gate vein, gateware, gateway, Gateway Island, gatewise, gatewoman, Grays Gate, hair in the gate, Halton Lea Gate, handgate, Harrogate, headgate, hell gate, highgate, Highgate, Highgate Hill, Holgate, Hot Gates, Hutton Gate, Irongate, Iron Gates, jade gate, Jobs Gate, jumpgate, Kara Gates, Kevin's Gate, Kingsgate, kissing gate, kiss-me-at-the-gate, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, liftgate, like a bull at a gate, lock gate, logic gate, Lower Southgate, lych-gate, lychgate, Malay gate, Margate, matchgate, midgate, moon gate, moongate, Moravian Gate, Moses Gate, multigate, NAND gate, New Cross Gate, Newdegate, noise gate, NOR gate, Northgate, NOT gate, OR gate, outgate, out of the gate, oxengate, oxgate, pearly gates, photogate, pincer gate, Pipe Gate, plantgating, proselyte of the gate, quantum gate, quantum logic gate, qugate, radial gate, rambler gate, Ramsgate, Ramsgate Beach, Redgate, resurrection gate, right out of the gate, Sandgate, screwgate, sea gate, sluice-gate, sluice gate, sluice-gate price, snow gate, Southgate, South Newdegate, Squires Gate, stairgate, stair gate, stand in the gate, Stanton Gate, stargate, Stargateverse, starting gate, Stonegate, straight out of the gate, tailgate, Tainter gate, Texas gate, Thorngate, through the gate, ticket gate, tide gate, timegate, Toffoli gate, tollgate, tori gate, trance gate, trigate, Two Gates, V Gate, waste gate, wastegate, watergate, water gate, waygate, wicket gate, wombgate, Woodgate, XNOR gate, XOR gate

gate

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Old Norse gata, from Proto-Germanic *gatwǭ. Cognate with Danish gade, Swedish gata, German Gasse (“lane”). Doublet of gait.

1

Northern England, Scotland A way, path.

  • I was going to be an honest man; but the devil has this very day flung first a lawyer, and then a woman, in my gate.1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC:
  • "Stand out o' my gate, wife, for, d'ye see, I am rather in a haste, Jean Linton."1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet:
2

Obsolete A journey.

  • […] nought regarding, they kept on their gate, / And all her vaine allurements did forsake […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
3

Northern England, Scotland A street; now used especially as a combining form to make the name of a street e.g. "Briggate" (a common street name in the north of England meaning "Bridge Street") or Kirkgate meaning "Church Street".

4

Scotland, UK, Archaic, Dialectal Manner; gait.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for gate and GATE.

Learn more